Representation of international students on Australian university websites: A critical multimodal discourse analysis

Abstract

University websites play a pivotal role in the recruitment of international students for Australian universities, in particular at a time of fierce global competition. These websites make an interesting specialised genre for discourse analysis. This article conceptualises university websites as multimodal texts employing language and other semiotic resources such as images to represent international students in the context of shifting conceptualisations of international student education. Based on a qualitative inquiry into the webpages for international students on the official websites of three Australian universities, the article shows how the universities categorise international students and represent them in perceived activities and interpersonal relations through language and other modalities. The discursive representation of international students by the three Australian universities is discussed in relation to conceptual shifts in international student education, diversity management and multimodal discourse analysis. The article concludes with implications for international student representation and university webpage design.